Library  of  the 
University  of  North  Carolina 

^^ndowed  by  the  Dialectic  and  Philati' 
thropic  Societies 


LOGALITIES 


-OF  THE- 


REFORMATION ! 

Which  were  J  isiteil  reeeiitly  hi  it  JEuropeiui 
Toiit%  iifiil  Descvihed  in  ft  JLectiire 
I^elivereil  in 

^1  fail's  ^Mtigelkal^jift  ^'Ipritli^ 


OCTOBER  28tli  and  31st,  1877 


BY  G.  D.^ERNHEIM,  D. 


WILMINGTON,  N.  C: 

S.  G.  HALL,  BOOK  AND  JOB  PRINTER, 

1877. 


LOCALITIES  OF  THE 

REFORMATION ! 


Eev.  Dr.  G.  D.  Bernheim,  on  the  "Localities  of  the 
Eeformation,"  which  have  been  recently  visited  by  him,  and 
described  in  a  Lecture  delivered  in  St.  Paul's  Evangelical 
Lutheran  Church,  Wilmington,  K  0.,  October  28th  and  31st, 
1877,  has  been  published  in  pamphlet  form,  and  is  for  sale  in 
this  city  at  Harris'  News  Stand. 

This  is  the  only  known  publication  in  the  English  language 
of  a  description  of  Martin  Luther's  home,  and  the  scenes  of 
his  labors,  written  from  personal  observation,  and  is  commend- 
ed to  all  as  one  of  the  author's  most  vivid  productions.  The 
following  testimonials  are  appended  ; 

"The  lecture  is  full  of  interest,  and  leads  you  along  so  charmingly  in 
its  clear,  natural,  unpretending  style,  that  you  could  imagine  yourself 
the  Doctor's  companion  in  travel.     Lutheran  Visitor. 

Dr.  Bernheim  has  recently  visited  the  places  made  famous  by  the 
struggles,  trials  and  triumphs  of  the  Heroes  of  the  Reformation,  and  the 
lecture,  written  in  terse,  lucid  and  forcible  style,  is  the  result  of  his  ob- 
servations. ' ' —  Wilmington  Democrat. 

"If  you  wish  to  read  an  interesting  lecture,  send  to  Rev.  Dr.  Bern- 
heim, Wilmington,  N.  C.  The  Doctor  has  just  returned  from 
Europe,"  and,  in  a  pamphlet  of  24  pages,  ^ives  a  description  of  his 
visit  to  the  historic  'Localties  of  the  Reformation.'  Messenger. 

"Very  much  obliged  for  your  neat  discourse,  it  has  the  true  ring,  and 
the  only  fault  is  its  brevity.  You  have  rendered  good  service  to  the 
cause,  and  I  hope  all  your  readers  will  appreciate  and  practice  your  clos- 
ing exhortation."— Rev.  John  G.  Morris,  D.  D.,  L.  L.  D.,  Baltimore. 

I  received  your  "Reformation"  Address,  and  read  it  with  great  pleas- 
ure and  profit  to  myself.  I  was  not  surprised  that  you  were  called  on  to 
repeat.  I  wish  it  could  be  delivered  before  all  our  congregations,  or  it 
could  be  generally  circulated  among  our  people.  It  is  not  only  interest- 
ing but  instructive  and  calculated  to  inspire  a  love  for  the  Mother 
Church."— Rev.  L.  A.  Bikle,  D.  D.,  President  North  Carolina  Synod. 


JPrice,  per  si^igle  eopy,  25  [Cts.    A  liberal  dis- 


cot€^it  to  the  Trade. 


Address, 


S. 


Book  and  Job  Printer,  Wilmington,  0. 


LOCALITIES 

 OF  THE  

REFORMATION! 


Which  trefe  Visiteti  recently  in  u  JEtiropeun 
Tour,  uitid  JDescrihed  in  a  JLeeture 
Delivered^  in 


OCTOBER  Q8tli  and  31st,  1877 


BY  G.  D.  TERNHEIM,  D.  D. 


WILMINGTON,  N.  C.t 

S.  G.  HALL,  BOOK  AND  JOB  PRINTER, 

1877. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2014 


https://archive.org/details/localitiesofrefoOObern 


LOCALITIES  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


My  Christian  Friends  : 

It  is  not  my  purpose  to  discourse  on  any  passage  of  Scrip- 
ture on  this  occasion  of  the  annual  recurrence  of  the  festival 
of  the  Eeformation  ;  but  having  recently  visited  most  ot  the 
localities  made  famous  in  that  greatest  event  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  I  have  thought  proper  to  make  a  change  this  year  in 
the  usual  manner  of  our  celebrating  this  anniversary,  and 
shall  devote  the  time,  allotted  to  a  sermon,  to  a  description  of 
some  of  the  towns  and  cities  in  which  the  principal  events  of 
the  Eeformation  took  place. 

All  that  we  hold  most  sacred  and  dear,  dearer  even  than 

life  itself,  are  our  civil  and  religious  freedom.    We  can  now 

sing  almost  all  over  the  world : 

"  Absurd  and  vain  attempt  to  bind 
With  iron  chains  the  t'reeborn  mind." 

But  it  was  not  always  so ;  human  laws  and  ancient  customs, 

together  with  feudal  rights  and  the  power  of  emperors  and 

kings,  had  enslaved  both  soul  and  body  of  our  not  very  distant 

ancestors. 

There  are  not  wanting  those  who  date  the  birth  of  civil  lib- 
erty to  the  granting  of  the  Magna  Oharta  by  king  John  of 
England:  this  act  made  England  free,  which  freedom  was 
afterwards  extended  to  America  by  English  colonists;  but 
whilst  I  will  in  no  wise  underestimate  the  results  of  that  event, 
let  us  not  forget  that  there  are  other  countries  and  nations 
equally  as  free,  who  have  never  felt  the  influence  of  king  John's 
grant  to  his  lords  and  barons. 


4 

But  religious  freedom  undoubtedly  bad  its  birtb  in  Genna- 
ny ;  it  is  a  principle  evolved  from  tbe  issues  of  tbe  Eeforma- 
tion  of  the  sixteenth  century,  and  became  an  accomplished 
fact  one  hundred  years  later,  at  the  peace  at  Augsburg,  which 
closed  so  gloriously  the  drama  of  the  Thirty  Years  War.  And 
without  religious  freedom  civil  liberty  is  but  a  mockery;  hence 
I  have  no  hesitancy  in  concluding,  that  our  dearest  and  most 
inalienable  rights  as  freeborn  citizens  date  their  origin  bade 
to  the  sixteenth  century,  and  were  some  of  the  results  of  the 
great  Eeformation.  Other  legitimate  and  important  conclu- 
sions I  prefer  to  leave  you  to  draw  yourselves. 

The  most  northern  range  of  the  system  of  mountains  in 
central  Europe  are  the  Harz  mountains.  Who  has  not  heard  of 
them  ?  What  ghost  and  witch  stories  have  thej  not  furnished 
for  the  childhood  of  all  European  nations  and  their  descend- 
ants here  ?  And  then  that  phenomenon  of  nature,  described 
in  all  our  text  books  on  Natural  Philosophy,  "  The  Spectre 
of  the  Brocken,"  seen  occasionally  on  one  of  the  peak^  of 
these  mountains,  has  become  as  familiar  to  us  as  an  house- 
hold word.  From  the  east  and  north  of  the  Harz  mountains 
the  country  shelves  off  rapidly  level  towards  the  Baltic  and 
North  seas ;  but  to  the  south  and  south-east  of  these  moun- 
tains you  have  an  undulating  surface  of  country  with  most 
beautiful  and  picturesque  valleys.  In  one  of  these  valleys 
the  town  of  Erfurt  is  located ;  it  is  the  lovely  valley  of  the  lit- 
tle river  Saal,  a  branch  of  the  Elbe, — a  valley  full  of  historic 
recollections,  and  every  scene  of  it  that  the  eye  can  reach  is 
worthy  of  the  painter's  pencil.  I  gazed  from  the  window  of 
the  railroad  car  all  along  this  valley  upon  the  ever  changing 
picturesque  scenery  with  such  intentness  as  to  pain  my  eyes, 
and  even  then  I  could  not  withdraw  them. 

Among  these  surroundings  Martin  Luther  spent  the  most 
romantic  years  of  his  life,  from  his  seventeenth  to  his  twenty- 
fourth  year,  during  this  interval  the  town  of  Erfurt  was  Lu- 
ther's home,  and  here  the  Eeformer  was  moulded  and  mad€ 
nnder  most  peculiar  and  wonderful  leadings  of  divine  Frovi- 


5 


dence ;  we  have  also  the  right  to  say,  that  here  the  great 
Eeformation  had  its  birth,  since  it  was  here  that  Luther  re- 
ceived both  his  literary  and  spiritual  training. 

There  existed  in  Luther's  time  two  noted  institutions  in 
Erfurt,  a  university  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  town  and  a 
monastery  in  the  more  western  part.  Luther's  father,  once  a 
poor  miner  in  the  mountains,  but  who  had  become  wealthy 
trom  the  proceeds  of  his  two  furnaces,  sent  his  son  Martin  to 
complete  his  education  as  a  lawyer  in  this  university ;  how- 
ever, several  circumstances  in  Luther's  young  life  served  to 
change  his  purpose :  first  a  severe  spell  of  sickness ;  then,  a 
wound  in  his  leg  that  severed  an  artery  caused  by  the  fall  of 
his  student's  sword  from  its  scabbard,  from  which  he  bled 
almost  to  death ;  and,  lastly,  the  sudden  death  of  his  friend 
Alexis,  who,  whilst  walking  by  Luther's  side,  was  struck 
down  by  a  flash  of  lightning,  all  of  which  caused  a  deep  gloom 
to  fall  upon  the  soul  of  young  Luther,  so  that  he  resolved  to 
become  a  monk,  and  soon  afterwards  entered  the  Augustinian 
monastery  in  Erfurt. 

This  ancient  cloister  I  visited  on  the  second  day  of  last 
July.  It  is  now  an  orphan  asylum,  named  Martinsstift,  in 
honor  of  Martin  Luther,  who  once  occupied  one  of  its  cells  as 
an  Augustinian  friar.  That  identical  cell  is  no  more,  a  few 
years  ago  a  part  of  the  building  was  accidentally  destroyed 
by  fire,  and  Luther's  cell  with  all  its  valuable  contents  was 
likewise  destroyed.  It  has  since  been  restored  by  masons 
and  carpenters,  but,  though  very  much  like  its  predecessor, 
the  new  Luther's  cell  is  not  the  one  Luther  once  occupied, 
and  is  of  necessity  despoiled  of  much  of  its  historic  interest. 

But  my  guide,  the  principal  of  the  Martinsstift,  took  me  to 
another  part  of  the  building,  a  part  that  still  remains  in  its 
original  condition,  for  the  devouring  flames  did  not  reach  it. 
We  ascended  a  flight  of  steps  to  the  second  or  third  floor, 
and  I  was  ushered  into  a  large  room,  that  was  furnished  and 
looked  very  much  like  the  chapel  of  the  institution,  which  in- 
deed it  was,  and  here  also  the  sessions  of  Synod  for  that  dis- 


6 


trict  are  annually  held.  Everything  in  the  room  gave  testi- 
mony to  its  antiquitj^,  the  quaint  small-paned  windows,  the 
ancient  pictures  on  the  wall,  the  rehcs  of  antiquity  arranged 
in  various  appropriate  places  of  the  room ;  and  I,  at  length, 
began  to  wonder  where  I  was,  and  to  think  that  my  guide  was 
putting  my  knowledge  of  the  events  of  the  Eeformation  to  the 
test ;  he,  seeing  my  perplexity,  came  at  once  to  my  relief, 
saying :  *^  This  room  was  once  the  library  of  the  monastery, 
and  here,  in  this  room  and  lihrarij,  Luther  first  saw  and  read 
the  Bible,"  I  objected  and  remarked,  that  that  occurred  in 
the  University.  He  repHed,  "  Yes,  that  is  the  general  belief, 
but  it  is  a  mistake,  this  room  is  the  place.^^  But  where  is  that 
Bible  ?"  I  inquired.  He  answered :  "A  few  years  ago  you 
could  yet  have  seen  it,  but  now  it  is  no  more,  for  we  kept  it 
sacredly  in  Luther's  cell,  and  I  am  sorry  to  inform  you,  that 
it  perished  in  the  flames  when  the  cell  was  destroj^ed  by  fire." 

And  so  I  actually  stood  in  the  very  room  in  which  the  light 
of  truth  shone  for  the  first  time  again,  after  the  lapse  of  many 
ages,  upon  the  mind  of  a  human  being.  Ten  centuries  p^st 
had  that  light  been  practically  obscured  by  the  decretals  of 
the  Popes,  and  even  here  that  copy  of  the  Scriptures  stood 
fastened  to  its  shelf  by  a  chain ;  how  emblematic  of  the  true 
state  of  religion  at  that  time  !  But  chained  as  that  Bible  was, 
young  Luther  opened  it,  its  blessed  truths  were  almost  de- 
voured by  him,  and  also  kept  him  riveted  to  the  spot  for  many 
hours.  Who  then  can  deny,  that  in  this  very  room  the  great 
Eeformation  had  its  birth  ?  From  this  very  room  the  streams 
issued  forth  that  gladdened  the  city  of  our  God  ;  it  was  then 
but  a  small  fountain,  now,  thank  God,  the  world,  is  full  of 
Bibles. 

I  have  yet  to  add,  that  so  many  of  the  books  of  that  library", 
as  are  still  left,  have  been  removed  to  another  part  of  the 
building,  and  are  being  arranged  as  quickly  as  possible  into 
the  regular  order  of  a  new  library  for  the  benefit  of  the  insti- 
tution. 

From  that  monastery  in  Erfurt  Luther  was  called  to  Wit- 


7 


teii^erg,  as  theological  professor  in  the  new  university,  which 
the  Elector  of  Saxony  had  est.'iblished  there.  Here  was  Lu- 
ther's permanent  home,  and  here  he  labored  to  the  day  of  his 
death,  excepting  only  the  ten  months  that  he  was  concealed 
from  the  wrath  of  his  enemies  in  the  Wartburg  castle. 

I  arrived  at  Wittenberg  late  Saturday  evening,  and  on 
Sunday  morning  I  awoke  hearing  music  high  up  from  the 
tower  of  the  town  church.  A  brass  band  was  playiog  Luther's 
battle  hymn : 

"  Ein  feste  Burg  ist  unser  Gott," 
and  with  such  sweet  and  soft  cadences,  owing  to  the  height 
from  which  the  music  proceeded,  as  to  affect  me  to  tears. 

Wittenberg,  unlike  Erfurt,  is  situated  in  a  level  plain,  about 
sixty  miles  south-west  of  Berlin ;  it  is,  however,  pleasantly  lo- 
cated on  the  left  bank  of  the  river  Elbe,  and  is  surrounded  by 
a  wall  and  large  ditch,  called  a  moat,  partially  filled  with 
water,  which,  by  the  way,  is  now  in  process  of  being  levelled, 
as  it  no  longer  serves  the  purpose  of  defence  in  time  of  war, 
the  mode  of  warfare  having  been  entirely  changed.  But  so 
extensive  is  this  circumvallation,  that  it  will  take  much  capital 
and  some  length  of  time  to  complete  its  entire  demolition. 
The  old  Elster  gate  in  this  wall,  quite  near  to  Luther's  dwel- 
ling, is  now  no  more;  here  the  wall  has  been  levelled  into  the 
ditch,  so  as  to  make  a  wide  street  leading  to  the  railroad  sta- 
tion; thus  the  march  of  modern  improvements  does  away 
with  many  sacred  relics  of  the  past,  and  all  that  you  can  see 
now  of  the  historic  Elster  gate  is — a  photograph  view  of  it 
taken  before  the  process  of  demolition  commenced. 

But  let  us  enter  the  town.  The  most  prominent  building 
in  the  place  is  the  Stadtkirche,  (town  church,)  almost  large 
enough  to  be  a  cathedral,  and  stands  a  short  distance  to  the 
rear  of  the  public  square,  called  the  markt-platz.  This  church 
has  two  immense  towers  in  front  of  it,  which  are  joined  together 
a  long  way  up  to  near  the  top,  where  they  are  once  more  joined 
together  by  a  bridge,  and  then  two  smaller  turrets  are  built 
up  a  considerable  space  higher,  and  may  be  seen  as  the  most 


8 


prominent  objects  in  Wittenberg  a  considerable  distance  from 
the  town.  I  need  not  tell  you  that  this  is  the  principal  place 
of  worship  in  Wittenberg,  and  is,  of  course,  a  Lutheran  church. 
There  is  not  much  architectural  beauty  apparent  in  its  exte- 
rior construction,  but  it  manifests  considerable  magnificence 
in  its  interior  ornamentation,  and  the  largest  congregations 
are  assembled  in  it  every  Sunday.  In  the  public  square  near 
it  stand  two  bronze  statues ;  you  recognize  them  immediately, 
— they  represent  Luther  and  Melanchthon,  and  have  each  an 
iron  canopy  over  the  pedestals  on  which  they  stand.  This, 
in  connection  with  the  proximity  of  the  place  where  the  old 
university  stood,  and  the  nearness  of  Luther's  residence, 
would  naturally  lead  one  to  infer,  that  this  is  the  church  upon 
whose  door  Luther  nailed  the  Ninety-five  Theses  against  the 
sale  of  the  Pope's  letters  of  indulgence.  This  is,  however,  aot 
the  case ;  the  town  church  possesses  no  historic  interest,  ex- 
cept that  Luther  sometimes  preached  in  it. 

The  sale  of  indulgences  originated  in  the  following  manner : 
The  Pope  had  determined  to  build  the  finest  and  costliest 
cathedral  in  the  world — the  famous  St.  Peter's  of  Eome. 
Money  was  needed  to  complete  the  building,  and  he  resorted 
to  the  sale  of  indulgences,  i.  e.  letters  of  pardon  for  all  sins, 
past  and  future,  signed  and  sealed  by  the  Pope  himself.  These 
were  sold  over  all  Europe,  and  John  Tetzel,  who  was  em- 
ployed in  this  traffic  in  Germany,  had  the  eftrontery  to  place 
the  following  motto  on  his  cash-box  : 

"  As  soon  as  money  in  this  chest  rings, 
So  soon  the  soul  to  heaven  ascends." 

Luther  had  often  preached  against  the  sale  of  these  indul- 
gences, and  the  Elector  of  Saxony  had  forbidden  the  nefarious 
traffic  in  his  dominions ;  yet  many  persons  went  outside  of  the 
Elector's  territory,  a  few  leagues  distant  from  Wittenberg,  and 
there  purchased  these  letters  of  indulgence  from  the  Pope's 
agent,  thus  defying  God's  holy  law  and  gospel,  the  desire  of 
their  Prince,  and  particularly  everything  which  an  ordinary 
monk  could  say.    In  this  manner  was  that  pious  and  consci- 


9 


entious  man  of  God,  Martin  Luther,  driven  to  the  wall.  He 
had  either  to  keep  silent  and  assent  to  this  wholesale  destruc- 
tion of  the  souls  of  men,  or  to  protest  against  the  awful  crime, 
and  let  the  consequences  be  what  they  may.  He  excited  no 
insurrectionary  mob,  he  unsheathed  no  sword  to  force  his 
opinions  upon  mankind ;  he  simply  grasped  the  pen  and  wrote 
his  ninety-five  arguments,  called  Theses,  adduced  from  the 
Word  of  God,  against  the  sale  of  indulgences,  and  nailed  them 
upon  the  church  door  of  Wittenberg,  during  the  evening  of 
the  last  day  of  October,  A.  D.  1517. 

Now  come  along  with  me  to  the  end  of  the  main  street,  in 
the  opposite  direction  from  the  Elster  gate  and  those  other 
buildings  already  mentioned,  almost  out  of  town,  and  you  will 
see  a  round  castle  tower ;  as  you  approach,  a  large  quadrang- 
ular castle  or  palace  building  is  before  you,  enclosing  an  open 
court  yard ;  this  was  the  residence  of  one  line  of  the  Electors 
of  Saxony,  who  in  Luther's  time  were  his  devoted  friends. 
One  side  of  this  castle  edifice,  fronting  the  main  street, 
comprises  the  castle  church,  in  which  the  Elector  and  his  fam- 
ily worshiped,  here  in  the  central  point  of  the  \^all  of  the 
church,  and  facing  the  street,  is  the  famous  door  on  which  the 
Ninety-five  Theses  were  nailed. 

The  old  wooden  door  has,  however,  been  destroyed  by 
French  soldiers;  but  in  its  place  swings  a  double  door  of  brass, 
not  quite  so  destructible,  and  the  Ninety-five  Theses  in  Latin 
have  been  cast  upon  it  in  raised  letters.  Should  enemies 
again  vent  their  rage  upon  this  monument,  it  will  avail  them 
nothing,  for  the  renowned  Ninety-five  Theses  against  the  sale 
of  papal  indulgences  are  not  so  easily  obliterated  from  the 
pages  of  history. 

Now  let  us  enter  this  castle  church ;  it  is  a  fine  looking  edi- 
fice, and  contains  many  works  of  art  in  marble,  chiefly  com- 
memorative of  the  departed  Electors  of  Saxony  and  members 
of  their  family,  whose  remains  lie  entombed  underneath  the 
chancel.  But  in  the  central  aisle,  which  crosses  the  long  aisle 
in  the  middle  of  the  church,  are  two  small  wooden  trap-doors. 


10 


about  three  by  four  and  a-half  feet,  with  a  metal  ring  in  each, 
so  that  these  doors  may  be  easily  raised.  You  ask  the  oblig- 
ing sexton  to  open  these  doors,  and  you  stand  before  the 
graves  of  Luther  and  Melanchthon,  not  open  so  as  to  let  you 
gaze  upon  their  coffins,  but  the  memorial  tablets  of  brass  with 
Latin  inscriptions  are  before  you — very  simple,  yet  impressive, 
indicating  to  you,  that  they  cover  the  last  resting  places  of 
these  two  fathers  of  the  Reformation  ;  friends  and  co-laborers 
in  life  were  they,  very  nearly  of  the  same  age  at  the  time  of 
their  death,  and  in  their  last  sleep  reposing  so  very  near  each 
other.  It  seems  almost  miraculous  that  the  mortal  remains 
of  Luther  have  never  been  disturbed  since  they  were  deposited 
here  soon  after  his  death.  On  more  than  one  occasion,  during 
the  misfortunes  of  war,  has  the  fortified  town  of  Wittenfteig 
been  in  the  hands  of  the  enemies  of  the  Reformation.  Dur- 
ing the  Smalcaldic  war,  Charles  Y.  captured  the  town  not  long 
after  Luther's  death,  when  the  PJmperor  had  the  grave  of  Lu- 
ther opened,  into  which  he  gazed,  but  waived  back  the  Duke 
ol  Alba  with  his  hand,  forbidding  him  to  remove  the  body  of 
Luther,  that  it  might  be  burned,  and  the  ashes  be  thrown  into 
the  rivc.r  Elbe,  as  the  duke  had  proposed  to  do. 

The  old  university  of  Wittenberg  has  been  removed  to  Halle, 
a  city  not  very  far  distant,  and  the  edifice  has  been  torn  down 
to  make  room  for  a  military  garrison ;  but  the  dwellings  of 
Luther  and  Melanchthon  are  still  standing.  Melanchthon's 
house  is  a  plain,  three-storied  dwelling,  the  gable  end  of  which 
fronts  the  main  street,  and  a  tablet  inserted  in  the  outer  wall, 
fronting  the  street,  informs  strangers  that  Melanchthon 
resided  there.  But  the  Luther  dwelling  was  once  a  mon- 
astery, and  was  presented  to  him  by  his  friend  the  Elector 
of  Saxony.  It  is  a  large  edifice,  and  stands  back  from  the 
main  street  a  considerable  distance,  about  one  hundred  or 
more  feet,  affording  a  large  space  in  front  for  his  garden.  An- 
other edifice  has  been  erected  on  this  unoccupied  part  of  the 
lot  near  the  street,  leaving  still  a  considerable  space  of 
ground  for  a  garden  between  the  two  buildings ;  a  grape  vine, 


11 


an  ivy  vine  and  a  cherry  tree,  if  I  remember  right,  all  of  Lu- 
ther's planting,  are  still  to  be  seen  there ;  also  an  excellent 
well  of  water,  which  he  and  his  family  used,  and  from  which  I 
drank,  are  all  in  that  garden.  These  two  edifices,  the  old  and 
the  new,  are  now  a  theological  seminary,  well  endowed  with 
funds,  in  which  graduates  in  theology  from  universities  may 
spend  one  or  two  more  years,  receiving  additional  instruction 
from  able  professors,  and  drinking  in  afresh  Luther's  spirit 
from  the  historic  mementoes  that  surround  them.  Certainly 
a  more  noble  use  of  Luther's  home  could  not  have  been  de- 
vised. This  institution  possesses  an  extensive  and  very  valu- 
able library. 

We  are  still  in  Luther's  garden,  between  the  two  edifices, 
the  one  on  the  street,  and  Luther's  dwelling  in  the  rear.  Now 
raise  your  eyes  to  the  second  story.  What  a  singular  looking 
window  is  that,  having  such  small  round  panes  of  glass  in  it 
of  the  olden  style,  whilst  all  tne  other  windows  are  different 
and  more  modern  ?  We  notice  also  that  a  few  of  those  round 
panes  of  glass  are  broken  out,  whilst  otherwise  that  solitary 
odd  window  is  well  preserved.  That  is  the  window  through 
which  the  light  of  day  enters  into  Luther's  room,  still  sacredly 
preserved  in  the  condition  in  which  he  left  it.  And  as  we 
cross  the  threshold  of  that  room,  what  crowds  of  historic  rec- 
ollections course  through  the  brain  !  Here  it  was  where  Lu- 
ther spent  his  happy  hours  in  the  company  of  his  beloved 
family;  here  doubtless  many  of  his  great  thoughts  were  con- 
ceived, here  he  had  to  part  with  his  beloved  young  daughter 
Magdalene,  in  her  fourteenth  year,  being  the  first  death  in  his 
family.  The  floors  of  the  room  are  worn  and  somewhat  de- 
cayed, but  the  walls  and  ceiling  are  nearly  the  same  as  in  Lu- 
ther's time.  The  furniture  consists  of  a  tile  stove  designed 
by  himself;  his  table — now  much  decayed ;  his  double-seated 
tete-a-tete  chair,  fixed  by  the  quaint  small  paned  window ;  a 
bas-relief  bust  of  Luther,  said  to  have  been  taken  after  his 
death  ;  his  coat  of  arms — a  rose,  a  heart  and  a  cross  ;  his  full 
length  portrait  over  the  door ;  and  the  signature  of  Peter  the 


12 


Great  under  the  portrait,  in  chalk,  cased  over  with  glass. 
Through  that  door  we  enter  into  his  study,  which  now  con- 
tains but  a  glass-covered  cabinet,  and  in  it  are  preserved  and 
may  be  seen  his  drinking  cup  ;  a  likeness  of  him,  worked  upou 
cloth  by  his  wife ;  a  wooden  goblet,  worked  out  of  a  part  of 
the  beech  tree  under  which  he  was  taken  prisoner,  when  he 
was  carried  to  the  Wartburg  castle ;  and  a  few  othei*  less  im- 
portant articles.  Luther's  bed  chamber  is  also  shown  to  visi- 
tors, but  it  is  entirely  emptied  of  furniture;  both  it  and 
his  study  had  to  be  remodeled,  for  the  floor,  walls  and  ceiling 
were  very  much  decayed.  In  the  hall  of  the  same  building  is 
the  front  portion  of  the  rostrum  from  which  Luther?  lectured 
in  the  university.  Upon  the  walls  of  this  hall  are  placed  the 
numerous  portraits  of  the  several  Electors  of  Saxony.  It  is 
intended  to  make  this  and  the  adjoinuig  hall  a  Luther  muse- 
um, in  which  is  to  be  placed  every  relic  of  the  great  Reformer 
that  can  be  collected  all  over  Europe. 

We  must  not  leave  Wittenberg  without  visiting  the  Luther- 
oak-tree,  planted  on  the  spot  where  Luther  burned  the  Pope's 
bull.  It  is  outside  of  the  walls  of  the  town,  j  ust  about  mid- 
way between  the  Elster  gate  and  the  railroad  depot.  It 
stands  near  the  center  of  a  small  grove  of  trees  and  a  flower 
garden ;  as  soon  as  you  enter  the  small  wooden  gate,  a  good 
sized  oak  tree  stands  before  you ;  it  is  encircled  by  an  iron 
fence,  upon  which  is  fastened  an  iron  tablet,  bearing  this  in- 
scription in  raised  letters :  "  At  this  place  Dr.  Martin  Luther 
burned  the  Pope's  bull  of  excommunication,  Dec  10th,  1520." 
This  "Luther-oak,"  as  it  is  called,  was  planted  in  the  place  of 
the  original  one  that  was  cut  down  by  the  French  soldiers  in 
1813.  The  new  tree  grows  luxuriantly.  I  broke  a  branch 
from  it,  to  be  kept  as  a  memento  of  my  visit  to  Wittenberg. 

The  next  place  to  be  visited,  if  we  follow  the  order  of  time 
in  which  the  prominent  events  of  the  Eeformation  occurred,  is 
Worms.  It  is  noted  in  history  for  the  diet  at  which  Luther 
made  his  celebrated  defence  before  the  Emperor  Charles  Y. 
and  the  assembled  powers  and  grandees  of  Europe,  closing  his 


13 


address  with :  "  Except  I  be  convinced  by  sound  argument, 
and  from  the  Holy  Scriptures,  that  T  am  in  error,  I  can  and  I 
will  recant  nothing.  Here  I  stand,  I  cannot  do  otherwise, 
God  help  me !  Amen."  By  the  burning  of  the  Pope's  bull  of 
excommunication,  Luther  was  now  quits  with  the  Church  of 
Eome ;  the  Pope,  as  the  representative  of  the  supreme  spiritual 
power  of  the  land,  had  excommunicated  Luther,  i.  e.  thrown 
him  out  of  the  church ;  and  Luther,  in  turn,  had  defied  the 
Pope's  authority  for  so  doing,  by  publicly  burning  his  letter  of 
excommunication  before  a  large  assemblage  of  people. 

"  The  blaze 
Redden 'd,  and  rose  beside  the  eastern  gate 
Of  Wittenberg." 

^'  Wittenberg,"  says  Carlyle,  looked  on,  with  shouts — the 
whole  world  looked  on.  It  was  the  shout  of  tbe  awakening 
of  the  nations.  . .  Luther  had  cast  off  for  ever  the  spectral 
nightmare  and  tripple-hatted  chimera  of  Rome." 

But  there  was  another  power  with  which  Luther  had  yet  to 
contend — the  supreme  temporal  power  of  Germany,  vested  in 
the  Emperor  Charles  Y.,  who  commanded  Luther  to  appear  be- 
fore him,  promising  him  a  safe  conduct,  and  answer  to  the 
charge  of  heresy  at  the  city  of  Worms,  where  Charles  was 
holding  a  diet  for  the  welfare  of  the  German  empire. 

Worms  was  once  a  large  city,  numbering  seventy-five  thou- 
sand inhabitants,  and  had  a  considerable  trade.  It  is  located 
on  the  lett  bank  of  the  river  Ehine,  an  hour's  ride  on  the 
railroad  from  Mayence,  but  a  long  way  from  Luther's  home — 
Wittenberg — about  two  hundred  and  fifty  to  three  hundred 
miles ;  it  contains  at  present  but  sixteen  thousand  inhabitants. 

The  old  castle,  that  adjoined  the  large  cathedral  in  which 
the  above-mentioned  diet  was  held,  is  likewise  one  of  the 
things  that  were ;  and  here  again  the  French  were  the  agres- 
sors,  but  not  those  of  Napoleon's  time,  for  it  was  destroyed 
many  years  before  his  day.  A  beautiful  garden  of  rare  plants 
and  flowers  and  a  fine  collection  of  birds  now  occupy  the 
spot  of  ground  made  so  famous  in  history,  and  is  in  possession 


I 

14 

of  a  wealthy  merchant  residing  in  Worms.  But  the  city  is 
now  constantly  visited  by  strangers  to  see  one  of  the  finest 
works  of  art  in  all  Europe,  "the  Luther  Monument,"  the 
work  of  Germany's  greatest  artist  Kietschell,  a  resident  of 
the  city  of  Dresden.  He  is  now  dead ;  he  did  not  even  live 
to  see  this  his  greatest  work  unveiled — nine  rears  ago.  One's 
admiration  of  this  monument  knows  no  bound.  Any  one  ot 
the  twelve  large  statues  of  bronze,  with  all  of  the  smaller 
figures,  all  grouped  together  in  this  monument,  would  make 
any  artist  celebrated.  The  central  and  top  figure,  of  course^ 
is  Luther,  in  the  attitude  as  he  was  saying  those  soul-stirring 
words  :  "  Here  I  stand,"  &c. 

At  this  diet,  Luther  was  declared  an  outlaw,  any  one  could 
take  his  life  if  he  were  so  disposed ;  but  the  Elector  of  Saxony, 
seeing  to  what  dangers  Luther  was  exposed,  provided  a  Pella, 
or  "  Patmos,"  as  Luther  termed  it,  for  him  until  the  storm 
against  him  had  somewhat  abated.  So  he  had  him  waylaid 
on  his  long  homeward  journey,  whilst  he  was  on  his  way 
through  the  Thuringian  forest,  and  carried  him  a  prisoner 
(ostensibly)  to  the  Wartburg  castle,  where  he  labored  in  safe- 
ty and  seclusion  at  his  great  work  of  translating  the  Bible  into 
the  German  language. 

For  the  purpose  of  viewing  this  castle  we  are  brought  once 
more  to  a  hilly  or  mountainous  country,  a  httle  to  the  west- 
ward of  Erfurt  and  near  the  river  Werra,  a  branch  of  the 
Weser,  immediately  south  of  the  Harz  mountains.  Nothing 
can  exceed  the  beauty  and  picturesqueness  of  the  scenery  of 
this  Thuringian  country,  painters  are  constantly  visiting  it  for 
the  purpose  of  transferring  these  celebrated  Thuringian  views 
upon  canvass.  So  enchanted  was  Count  Ludwig  11.  with  the 
scenery  from  the  mountain,  on  which  he  built  the  Castle  of 
Wartburg  during  the  years  1069  to  1072,  that  when  he  first 
saw  the  grand  panorama  spread  out  before  him,  whilst  en- 
gaged in  a  hunting  expedition,  he  exclaimed :  "  Wart  Berg, 
du  sollst  mir  eine  Burg  werden when  the  two  words,  Wart 
and  Burg,  were  joined  together,  by  which  name  the  castle  was 


15 


known  from  that  time  forward.  Translated,  it  signifies  : 
"  Wait  mountain,  you  shall  become  a  castle  for  me." 

But  the  Wartburg  has  a  history  besides  that,  and  before 
that,  which  associates  Luther's  name  with  it.  In  the  year 
1207,  the  7th  of  July,  the  historic  Minnesingers  held  their 
contest  in  this  castle.  Landgrave  Herrman  and  his  wife 
Sophie  were  then  the  occupants  of  the  Wartburg,  under  whose 
patronage  six  of  the  most  renowned  singers  of  Germany,  Henry 
the  clerk,  Walter  of  Yogelweide,  whom  Longfellow  made  the 
vsubject  of  one  of  his  poems,  Wolfiam  of  Eschenbacti,  Bitterolf, 
Henry  of  Osterdingen  and  Reimer  of  Zwetter,  assembled  at 
the  Wartburg  for  the  great  and  grand  contest  in  poetry  and 
song.  This  contest  would  have  become  a  bloody  one,  had  not 
the  teeling  heart  of  the  Landgravine  led  her  to  interpose  be- 
tween the  contestants  and  to  reconcile  them.  A  fine  painting 
of  this  contest  hangs  on  the  wall  in  the  large  and  grand  hall 
in  which  it  took  place. 

Wartburg  was  also  the  home  of  the  sainted  Elizabeth,  con- 
sort of  Landgrave  Ludwig,  the  son  and  successor  of  Land- 
grave Herrman  above  mentioned.  She  was  the  daughter  of 
Andrew  IL  King  of  Hungary,  and  a  lady  of  extraordinary 
beauty,  grace  and  benevolence,  and  was  dearly  beloved  by  her 
husband.  Although  yet  young  in  years,  during  the  absence  of 
her  husband  in  the  wars,  and  when  famine  and  pestilence  raged 
in  Thuringia,  she  was  the  benefactress  of  her  subjects,  and  was 
untiring  in  her  labors  and  charities  for  the  welfare  of  her  peo- 
ple, visiting  them  constantly  in  person,  whilst  clad  in  a  homely 
garb,  establishing  also  a  number  of  hospitals  for  the  benefit  of 
the  sick,  often  feeding  the  hungry  with  her  own  hands.  In 
the  year  1227,  her  husband,  who  took  an  active  part  in  the 
crusades,  died  near  Otranto  on  the  way  to  the  Holy  Land. 
And  now  she  was  driven  as  an  exile  from  her  beautiful  home 
by  her  brother-in-law,  who  endeavored  to  deprive  her  of  her 
husband's  estate ;  when  she  herself  had  to  suffer  great  priva- 
tions and  actual  want.  She  died  before  she  reached  her  twen- 
ty-fourth year,  leaving  four  children, — but  not  before  she  was 


16 


reinstated  in  lier  rights  and  possessions.  Only  four  years 
elapsed  after  her  death  when  she  was  sainted  by  Pope  Greg- 
ory IX.  On  the  walls  of  the  Elizabethan  passage-way  in  the 
castle  her  numerous  deeds  of  charity  are  painted  in  fresco,  to 
be  held  in  sacred  remembrance. 

I  was  not  prepared  to  see  this  castle  of  the  olden  time  kept 
in  such  excellent  state  of  preservation,  nor  that  its  princely 
rooms  and  chapel  are  so  magnificent ;  no  doubt  much  money 
is  spent  upon  it  annually  to  arrest  the  progi'ess  of  decay  which 
time  always  effects.  Here  I  first  saw  a  draw-bridge  and  port- 
cullis at  the  entrance  of  a  castle,  and  the  two  ponderous  gates 
that  shut  out  all  who  are  not  allowed  to  enter.  How  difficult 
it  must  have  been  to  take  such  a  castle  by  storm  in  ancient 
times  and  modes  of  warfare  ! 

But  we  must  not  forget  Luther  in  connection  with  the 
Wartburg  castle.  His  room,  which  he  occupied  under  the 
assumed  name  of  Knight  George,  and  where  he  translated  the 
Bible,  is  still  as  he  left  it.  It  is  a  rough-looking  room  com- 
pared with  the  elegant  halls  and  apartments  in  the  other  parts 
of  the  castle.  It  has  a  book-case  fastened  to  the  wall,  and 
around  it  are  hung  his  own  portrait,  those  of  his  parents,  and 
also  the  portraits  of  some  of  his  friends.  Underneath  the 
book-case  stands  his  table,  having  a  writing-case  and  a  few 
books  placed  upon  the  top ;  close  by  the  table  is  a  wooden 
arm-chair  and  a  vertebral  section  of  a  whale,  which  served 
him  as  a  foot-stool.  This,  with  a  tile-stove,  is  all  the  furni- 
ture of  which  the  room  can  boast. 

It  is  commonly  reported  and  generally  beheved,  though  I 
have  nowhere  seen  it  in  print,  not  even  in  the  voluminous 
writings  of  Luther,  that  on  one  occasion,  whilst  Luther  was 
busily  engaged  in  translating  the  Bible,  and  in  the  dead  hour 
of  night,  his  Satanic  Majesty  made  his  appearance  in  this 
room,  to  frighten  Luther  from  his  purpose  of  performing  the 
work  he  had  undertaken.  Nothing  daunted,  Luther  took 
up  his  inkstand  and  hurled  it  at  the  devil,  who,  being  an 
immaterial  personage,  allowed  the  inkstand  to  reach  the  wall 


17 


of  the  room,  and  consequently  left  or  made  a  large  ink-spot 
there.  Well,  this  ink-spot  has  been  cut  out  bj  relic  hunters 
by  thousands  of  pieces,  and  though  constantly  renewed  by 
the  inmates  of  the  castle  for  many  years,  was  nevertheless 
always  chipped  away,  until  at  length  an  unsightly  hole  in  the 
wall  is  all  that  is  left  of  that  famous  ink-spot,  the  inmates 
having  ceased  to  purchase  any  more  ink  for  that  purpose,  but 
have  also  left  the  wall  in  its  present  unrepaired  condition. 

I  must  yet  mention  that  the  Wartburg  castle  is  near  the 
town  of  Eisenach,  the  nearest  railroad  station,  and  a  beautiful 
macadamized  road  leads  up  the  mountain  very  near  to  the 
castle.  And  as  we  ascend  to  the  castle  from  Eisenach  we  have  to 
pass  by  the  beautiful  villa  residence  of  Fritz  Renter,  the  witty 
writer  of  Germany,  in  the  low-country  language  ot  North 
Germany,  better  known  as  Plattdeutsch.  Fritz  Renter  is 
numbered  with  the  dead,  but  his  widow  is  still  living,  and  I 
saw  her  taking  her  usual  walk  in  the  garden  as  I  drove  past 
the  villa  in  the  carriage  that  took  me  to  the  castle. 

There  are  other  localities  noted  in  the  history  of  the  Refor- 
mation, such  as  Eisleben,  Leipzig,  Gotha,  and  particularly 
Augsburg,  where  the  Augsbuig  Confession  was  delivered ;  but 
as,  with  the  exception  of  Leipzig,  I  have  not  visited  those 
places  personally,  I  am  not  able  to  give  you  a  proper  description 
of  them.  These,  however,  as  described,  are  the  most  cele^ 
brated  localities  in  the  life  and  labors  of  the  great  Reformer. 

A  full  description  of  my  visit  to  Leipzig  would  be  too 
lengthy  for  the  intent  of  this  lecture  ;  there  are  many  historic 
recollections  that  cluster  around  this  city ;  it  is  noted  chiefly 
for  its  battles,  the  last  of  which  was  fought  with  Napoleon  I. 
Emperor  of  France,  October  18,  1813,  and  a  fearfully  bloody 
battle  it  proved  to  be,  which  served  to  break  the  power  of 
Napoleon  and  hastened  his  downfall.  The  University  of 
Leipzig  is  one  of  the  largest  and  most  famous  in  Germany,  and 
has  nearly  as  many  professors  and  students  as  the  one  of  Ber- 
lin. In  the  history  of  the  Reformation  Leipzig  is  noted  for 
the  public  disputation  between  Dr..  Luther  and  Dr.  Eck ;  it 


18 


took  place  in  the  castle  and  lasted  several  days,  during  the 
month  of  July,  1519,  and  the  only  result  that  this  theological 
dispute  effected  was  the  issuing  of  the  Pope's  bull  of  excom- 
munication against  Luther,  as  before  mentioned. 

This  city  is  also  the  most  extensive  book  market  in  Ger- 
many, if  not  the  largest  in  the  world ;  the  publishing  houses 
in  Leipzig  are  of  the  most  colossal  order,  far  exceeding  any- 
thing of  the  kind  in  England  and  America. 

Before  concluding  these  remarks,  I  desire  you  to  accompany 
me  in  my  visit  to  the  monuments  of  three  noted  men,  who  at 
those  places  laid  down  their  lives  in  testimony  of  the  truth, 
although  neither  of  them  are  buried  there,  nor  were  either 
of  them  cotemporaries  of  Luther;  two  of  them  lived  a  cen- 
tury before  the  great  Eeformer,  and  the  other  a  century  after 
him  ;  and  yet  we  cannot  well  separate  their  names  from  the 
work  of  the  Eeformation. 

I  paid  a  little  extra  money  to  go  out  of  my  way  to  the  city 
of  Constance,  situated  on  a  lake  of  the  same  name,  one  of  the 
largest  lakes  of  Switzerland,  although  the  city  itself  belongs 
to  Germany.  It  is  made  famous  in  history  chiefly  for  the 
Council  of  Constance,  which  condemned  those  noble  men  of 
God  of  the  fifteenth  century — John  Huss  and  Jerome  of 
Prague,  who  both  suffered  martyrdom  at  the  stake  in  this 
city,  and  their  ashes  were  thrown  into  the  river  Ehine. 
The  place  of  execution  is  a  short  distance  out  of  the  city,  and 
an  immense  rock  boulder  has  been  placed  there  to  the  memory 
of  those  noble  martyrs  bearing  the  following  inscriptions : 

JoHif  Huss,  t  July  6  (14),  1415. 
On  the  opposite  side  of  the  rock  : 

Jerome  of  Prague,  t  May  30th  (7th  of  June),  1416. 
The  double  dates  of  the  days  are  made  to  shoAv  the  difference 
of  time-reckoning,  for  at  that  time  the  present  Gregorian 
system  of  computing  time  was  not  yet  introduced.  Then  the 
difterence  was  but  eight  days,  now  it  is  eleven  days,  between 
old  style  and  new  style.  The  t  is  an  ancient  way  of  indicating 
the  departure  of  a  Christian  from  this  life.    On  the  day  when 


19 


Huss  was  executed,  and  at  this  place,  he  made  this  remark- 
able prophecy :  "  My  name  is  Huss,  which  signifies  a  goose ; 
you  are  about  to  roast  only  a  goose  to-day,  but  a  hundred 
years  later  there  will  arise  a  swan,  which  you  can  neither  roast 
nor  fry."  About  a  hundred  and  two  years  from  that  date 
Martin  Luther  nailed  his  Ninety-five  Theses  upon  the  door 
of  the  castle  church  of  Wittenberg  ;  and  even  before  that  time 
he  had  been  preaching  against  the  sale  of  indulgences. 

I  also  visited,  in  this  city,  the  magnificent  cathedral  where 
the  Council  of  Constance  held  its  sessions  which  condemned 
Huss  and  his  friend.  P^verywhere  placards  are  stuck  up, 
printed  in  German,  English,  French  and  Italian,  begging 
persons  to  donate  something  for  the  repairs  of  the  cathedral. 
1  certainly  did  not  comply  with  that  request,  and  would  not 
have  even  entered  the  building,  were  it  not  that  as  a  historical 
monument  it  is  not  devoid  of  interest  to  visitors. 

Constance  is  situated  at  that  part  of  the  lake  where  its 
waters  flow  into  the  river  Rhine ;  at  that  very  place  is  the 
bridge  over  the  Ehine,  very  near  where  John  Huss  was  in- 
carcerated so  many  months  before  his  final  condemnation. 
The  prison  stood  on  an  island  in  the  lake,  and  the  lake,  the 
island,  the  river,  the  bridge  over  it,  all  come  near  together  at 
this  point.  The  prison  is  no  more,  but  an  extensive  hotel 
occupies  its  site,  called  the  "  Island  Hotel."  One  passes  by  it 
on  the  railroad  going  from  Constance  to  Schaflhausen. 

The  second  railroad  station  from  Leipzig  on  the  way  to 
Erfurt  is  Markranstedt.  Here  I  stopped  to  visit  the  place 
where  Gustavus  Adolphus,  King  of  Sweden,  fell  at  the  battle 
of  Luetzen,  in  the  Thirty  Years  war.  I  walked  to  the  spot — 
about  four  miles—much  further  than  I  was  informed,  but  I 
was  w«ll  repaid  for  my  exertion,  for  my  walk  was  on  a  macad- 
amized road,  through  meadows  and  grain-fields,  with  beautiful 
flowers  and  numerous  cherry  trees  loaded  with  ripe  fruit  on 
both  sides  of  the  road.  I  passed  through  two  little  villages 
and  by  several  large  wind-mills  before  I  reached  the  "  Swede's 
Stone,"  for  thus  is  the  monument  called.    It  stands  close  by 


20 


the  roadside  and  in  view  of  the  town  or  village  of  Luetzen, 
about  fifteen  minutes  walk  from  the  town.  A  shady  retreat 
surrounds  the  monument.  Under  an  iron  canopy  of  fine 
workmanship,  with  a  blue-colored  dome,  studded  with  star- 
shaped  holes,  stands  a  rough  stone,  brought  here  by  the 
Swedes,  and  inscribed  with  the  initials  "  G.  A."  and  the  date, 
"  1632."  So  insignificant,  plain  and  small  is  this  stone,  that 
no  one  would  even  have  dreamed  that  this  is  the  monument 
for  the  good  and  great  General  of  the  Thirty  Years  war,  who 
lost  his  life  at  this  very  place,  in  the  battle  of  Luetzen,  strug- 
gling for  the  religious  liberty  of  the  world.  But  the  iron 
canopy  over  this  stone  has  made  it  now  sufficiently  prominent 
to  arrest  attention,  and  to  do  honor  to  the  memory  of  one  of 
the  noblest  and  greatest  of  mankind.  This  canopy  has  the 
following  inscriptions :  First,  on  the  side  fronting  the  road, 
"Here  fell  Gustavus  Adolphus,  on  the  6th  of  November, 
1632."  Secondly,  to  the  right  and  fronting  Luetzen:  "  Because 
my  lord  fighteth  the  battles  of  the  Lord  "—1  Sam.  25:28. 
Thirdly,  and  opposite  the  front  side :  "  For  God  hath  not 
given  us  the  spirit  of  fear ;  but  of  power,  and  of  love,  and  of  a 
sound  mind." — 1  Tim.  1:7.  Fourthly,  on  the  side  to  the  left 
of  the  front :  "  And  this  is  the  victory  that  overcometh  the 
world,  even  our  faith." — 1  John  5:4. 

There  is  also  a  stone,  or  rock,  lying  on  the  ground  in  the 
rear  of  the  canopy,  seemingly  very  old,  which  I  regard  as  the 
first  memorial  placed  upon  this  spot,  bearing  this  inscription  : 
"  Gustavus  Adolphus,  King  of  Sweden,  fell  here,  in  the 
struggle  for  religious  liberty,  on  the  6th  of  ITovember,  1632." 
I  would  therefore  judge,  that  at  first  the  Germans  set  up 
this  stone,  then  came  the  Swedes  and  brought  a  stone  from 
their  country,  inscribed  as  aforesaid :  "  G.  A.,  1632,"  and  "  in 
1838,"  says  Murray — ^but  I  rather  suppose  1832,  the  two  hun- 
dredth anniversary  of  the  death  of  Gustavus  Adolphus — the 
Germans  honored  the  place  still  more  by  erecting  an  iron 
Gothic  canopy  over  the  "  Swede's  Stone,"  and  just  in  front  of 
the  old  stone  placed  there  first  by  the  Germans. 


21 


The  royal  remains  of  Gustavus  Adolphus,  which  were  em- 
balmed, did  not  reach  their  last  resting  place  in  Stockholm 
until  more  than  a  year  after  the  king's  death  at  Luetzen, 
when  they  were  deposited  in  a  mausoleum  prepared  for  them. 

In  conclusion,  permit  me  to  exhort  you  to  remain  true  to 
the  principles  of  the  Eefbrmation  ;  never  exchange  your 
heir-loom  of  civil  and  religious  freedom  for  any  price ;  these 
are  gacred  rights  that  cost  your  forefathers  much  labor  and 
rivers  of  blood  to  secure  for  themselves  and  their  descendants. 
Never  permit  a  fallible  human  being  to  usurp  the  throne  of 
your  conscience,  nor  to  dictate  to  you  how  to  worship  God. 
Eemember  always  with  gratitude  the  heroic  deeds  of  your  an- 
cestors in  struggling  for  these  inalienable  rights ;  commemo- 
rate with  joy  their  history,  their  labors  and  their  martyr's 
crown,  by  recounting  and  teaching  these  things  to  your  chil- 
dren, as  did  the  ancient  Jews ;  and  you  need  not  fear  that  your 
posterity  will  so  easily  depart  from  the  faith  and  principles  of 
their  forefathers.  And  should  ever  another  bloody  struggle  for 
civil  and  religious  hberty  arise,  which  may  God  forbid,  and 
our  now  favored  land  be  the  theatre  of  that  war,  you  will 
have  the  satisfaction  of  being  assured  that  your  descendants 
will  be  found  in  the  ranks  of  those  who  fear  not  to  do  right, 
and  who  will  not  permit  any  one  to  despoil  them  of  their 
crown. 


NOTES  AND  EXPLANATIONS. 


This  lecture  was  hurriedly  prepared  amidst  the  press  of  other  labors, 
without  any  view  to  its  publication,  simply  for  an  evening's  entertain- 
ment for  the  author's  congregation  and  friends.  Contrary  to  his  expec- 
tations, the  audience  was  so  large  as  to  necessitate  his  repeating  the  lec- 
ture in  accordance  with  the  request  of  numerous  persons,  who  could  not 
obtain  even  standing  room  in  the  church ;  this  will  explain  the  double 
dates  on  the  title  page  ;  and  even  on  that  occasion  the  church  was  filled 
the  second  time.  Then  came  quite  unexpectedly  the  request  for  the 
publication  of  the  lecture,  and  no  time  was  left  to  devote  to  its  critical 
preparation  for  the  press,  which  will  explain  any  deficiency  that  may  be 
apparent  and  the  error  that  inadvertently  crept  in  on  page  4,  fourth  line, 
where  instead  of  "peace  at  Augsburg,"  it  should  read  "  peace  of  West- 
phalia." 

2.  The  statement  on  page  6,  which  the  principal  of  the  Martinsstift  at 
Erfurt  made,  that  Luther  first  saw  and  read  the  Bible  in  the  cloister,  is 
not  without  authority,  as  the  reader  can  discover  by  referring  to  Lather's 
Works,  Walch's  edition,  Yol.  XXIY.,  page  71,  foot-note  a,  where  men- 
tion is  made  that  such  is  the  general  impression,  but  gives  good  reasons 
why  it  should  be  stated,  that  the  finding  and  reading  of  the  Bible  by  Lu- 
ther occurred  in  the  library  of  the  university  of  Erfurt.  D'Aubigne, 
Meurer,  Gelzer,  Mathesius  and  others  also  place  that  occurrence  in  the 
university  library,  which  occurrence  the  poet  Montgomery  has  immor- 
talized in  the  following  verse  : 

"  That  moment  was  the  Reformation's  seed  : 
That  volume,  then,  the  universe  outweigh 'd 
In  mental  preciousness,  and  moral  power ! 
Eor,  in  its  pages  slept  those  living  germs 
Of  principle,  from  out  whose  depths  have  sprung 
The  faith  and  freedom  of  a  Christian  world. " 

3.  On  the  same  page  it  is  stated,  that  Luther  found  the  Bible  fastened 
to  its  shelf  by  a  chain  ;  this  fact  is  substantiated  in  Prof.  Loy's  transla- 
tion of  Tick's  "Life  and  Deeds  of  Dr.  Martin  Luther,"  page  31,  as  fol- 
lows :  "  When  Luther  had  entered  the  monastery  he  asked  for  a  Bible, 
and  the  monks  gave  him  one.  It  was  bound  in  red  leather  and  fastened 
to  a  chain.  He  read  it  so  eagerly  that  he  knew  the  page  and  position  of 


23 


each  passage.  The  whole  day  was  sometimes  spent  in  reflection  upon  an 
important  sentence." 

4.  The  transcript  on  pages  8  and  9,  from  the  author's  sermon  on  "  The 
Success  of  God's  Work,"  published  in  1870,  was  made  to  explain  the 
I^inety-five  Theses,  as  requested  to  be  done  in  the  repetition  of  this  lec- 
ture, several  persons  not  being  in  possession  of  the  facts  explanatory  of 
this  first  act  of  Luther  in  the  work  of  the  great  Reformation. 

5.  It  is  proper  also  to  mention,  that  in  the  delivery  of  the  lecture  the 
branch  of  the  "Luther-oak,"  which  was  plucked  by  the  author  as  a  me- 
mento, was  exhibited  to  the  public  during  the  lecture  ;  in  like  manner, 
also,  was  a  large  photograph  view  of  the  Luther  monument  at  Worms 
presented  to  view,  and  at  the  close  of  the  lecture  many  photograph  stere- 
oscopic views  of  Eisenach,  Wartburg  Castle,  Wittenberg,  the  "Swede's 
Stone,"  near  Luetzen,  and  the  Huss  Monument  at  Constance,  were  also 
shown  to  those  who  desired  to  remain  and  see  them. 


